Sunday, 27 July 2014

So this could be my last blogging for a while as I will have the builders in most of the summer. I will try to blog when I can but I think I will have two chances - slim and none.

The good news is I should be able to crack on with the painting while we are away.

Here is August's painting "shelf"

Last months prioities were;

"Warhammer
drummer and 3 hand gunners

Warmachine
Finishing off the 2 gunmages and the Vanguard.

If I get a chance I have promised my brother I will make a start on his Viking Bloodbowl team and Stannis is looking tempting.

Targets;
Priorities
7 miniatures

Secondary targets;
3 miniatures"

The good news is I finished off the Warhammer drummer and 9 hand gunners (including Nathan ). I finished off one Warmachine Gun mage but got distracted by 1980's Imperial gruardmen so never got to finish off the Mage or the Vanguard.

So popped into the Miniature Empire Saturday after work to pick up the bits from "the Killing 3000". Macca was busy polishing off Liams forces in a game of Flames of War.

We start talking about the game last night (which Macca missed out on), one thing leads to another and we are setting up the terrain for "The Killing 3000 + 1". Imagine something like "Big Brothers little Brother".

Damon appears from behind the counter and produces his Cyber men. Four teams it is

Saturday, 19 July 2014

This Thursday Alister and I finally had a chance to meet up. I had managed to bury my blood bowl teams under a ton of stuff I had to move out of the loft and Al did not fancy Warmachine so we were stuck for ideas.

Then he mentions in a off hand manner "I do have a copy of the limited edition Space Hulk GW brought out in 2009!"

Sunday, 13 July 2014

With the Miniature Empire no longer opening on Sundays or Mondays it means I will be playing a lot less pick up games as these were my two main playing days.

Sadly it also means the demise of "The Secret Sunday Gaming Club". The answer was simple...... start my own. So this Sunday I opened the doors of my shop for the first "Little Village secret Sunday Gaming club".

Jiri, Jack and Ed were kind enough to turn up and not leave me sitting in the shop on my own for 3 hours. Jack And Ed set up on one table for a game of War Machine while Jiri and I attempted to see our way through a game of Warhammer Fantasy without the sage knowledge of Damon or Lano to guide us through the rules (this could take a while!).

I popped out to buy a pint of milk and return to find the table set out thus.

I guess we are going to be playing a lot of hide and seek this game!

The Chingford Arms pub (centre picture). The scene of many a scrap on a Friday night

I decide to take the nearest table edge (it was less of a walk), and we both set up 1000 points.

I am wary of Jiri's Gutter runners so make sure there is no 12" gaps to allow them to sneak behind my forces.

I decide to camp my Outriders behind the bluff and blast anything that rounds the bluff to smithereens. The Demigryphs go Gutter hunting up the right flank.

The Gryphs get in the charge and do what they do best by ripping the Gutter runners to bits before the Knights get to level their lances. They do inflict a wound on the Gryphs as they stand and shoot.

Not to be outdone the Outriders open up on the nearest unit of Gutter runners. As the smoke dissipates only two runners are left standing.

Jiri creeps forward and opens up with a barrage of pointy things from his runners. Once again Magic is mostly ineffectual.

The Outriders decide to show the wizards they can do magic to by opening up on another unit of Runners and make them disappear in a puff of smoke!

now you see them

now you don't!

Finally Jiri gets to open up on the Gryphs with his flame cannons (?) when don't you know it

He rolls a misfire, runs forward 8" and detonates smack bang in front of my Gryphs!!!!!!!

I have a real squeeky bum moment but make all my armour saves and the Gryphs riders wipe their brows and prepare to charge.

With a maniacal smile Jiri announces he is firing with his second cannon and here go's the madness again!

The cannon JUST hit my unit of Knights and inflicts enough injuries to force the Moral check (of a 9). I manage to fail the roll and my General races off for the nearest table edge!

Raggedy man is sniped off the field

run away. Run away!

Once again Marcus shows he is a rock and attempts to hold the right flank on his own. As if the winds of magic demand this I roll 10 magic dice and then makes my channel roll....... Result!

Then I manage to fluff all my spell rolls and the spell I do get off rolls a triple 6 and then the pit of shades deviates into the middle of nowhere. Marcus is stripped of all his magic and is now just a bloke on a horse facing down twenty odd Skaven.

This can only go well!

The out riders decide if we are not getting any wizards neither are you and opens up with both barrels on the Skaven engineer

5 wounds and its good bye magic!

The Gryphs make their charge on the second unit of clan rats. They inflict enough wounds to force the moral check, which they fail and the Gryphs run them down in a gluttony of slaughter.

Despite the loses the battle balances on a knifes edge!

The Clan rats finally round the bluff and the Outriders show their worth again and go postal on the Skaven. I hope they inflict enough casualties to distract the Skaven from my fleeing Knight and commander.

I wonder what the Skaven for "OH SHIT" is?

The cannon tries to hit my reformed Knights and force the moral check again but a roll of 2" causes the Skaven shorts to turn a deeper shade of brown.

seriously what is the Skaven for "OH SHIT"

Suddenly the world goes mad as the Gutter Runners on my right inflict enough casualties on the Gryphs to force the moral check which he FAILS.

A roll of 12 means he stops half an inch from the table edge.

Now whats the Demigryph for "OH SHIT"?

The outriders open up again and the Knights move forward to worry the last unit of Clan rats

With the Outriders threatening the Rats flank if they charge Jiri is forced to hold his ground. Its turn 6 and if he flees from the charge the unit count as destroyed from a points perspective.

With his Lucky red cap held high Custoras urges forward his "Second sons" and they make the charge and crash into the last unit of Clan rats. This forces the Moral check which Jiri can only pass with a double one.

To no ones surprise he fails the roll and bolts for the back table edge. And I mean really bolt as the knights are not even close to catching them.

The Rats manage to rally and in a last act of spitefulness target the remaining Outriders and shred them in a hail of rusty, sharp, pointy things. The Sods!

So a narrow point victory for the Empire. To be honest I am more impressed with the fact that Jiri and I managed top get through the game in under 3 hours and did not have to consult the rule book every 20 seconds.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves (Ed beat Jacks Butcher) and hopefully the LVSSGC can become a regular feature.

So I have finally grinded my way through the last of my Empire Hand Gunners Yesterday. At least with the Empire Spear men I have the Command group to go to town on, and the rank filler saved some sanity but with the Hand gunnaers I had none of that!

I needed something to draw the eye away from the rest on the figures (and restore my sanity) so I walked straight over to the Reaper section of the Miniature Empire, and there he was with a halo round him "Davey Crockett".

Ever since I based my General on George Custer I wanted a Wild West / Great plains figure in there somewhere from Custoras' insurrection days. Basically I wanted a "Hawk Eye", last of the Mohicans type character as the Hand Gunners sharpshooter.

This figure was an ABSOLUTE PLEASURE to paint and I knocked it out from top to bottom in under 2 hours. I wish I could have had a unit of these!

As is in keeping with the whole "Tale of 4 Gamers" this fella has a back story.

Nathan
Running Elk soon become a legend within the camp. On his first tour of
the camp walls an Elf scout had felled Nathans guide. In a heart beat he
had returned fire and dropped the Elf at 150 paces while the elf was
concealed in the tree line.

A
patrol dragged the Elf body into camp. On inspection of the body they
found a perfectly round musket ball hole just to the left of the bridge
of the Elf's nose. As the hand gunners surrounded the body, chattering
in awe and excitment at the impossible shot Nathan had simply walked up,
inspected the shot, and then calmly adjusted his sights!

Nathan
Running Elk was raised by the tribes of the great plains after he was
found as a baby amoung the carnage of a massacre of a settler convoy.
Nathan was adopted by "Death Wind" a renowned hunter of the Kuron tribe.

Nathans
tribe were one of the few tribes to side with the Empire during the
seperast wars of the Great Plains and were renowned as scouts and
trackers without peers amoung the Empire forces. This legend was only
solidified after their being armed with Hochland long rifles.

Nathans
father was lead scout of the Empires forces at the Big Little Horn and
literally begged the force commander not to proceed towards the enemy
camp. Death Wind later died holding a pass which gave the Empire forces
time to regroup after the rout.

Maybe it was their both feeling like fish out of water but a strong affinity soon sprung up between Nathan and Custoras which grew into a strong friendship during the campaign.

Nathan had arrived in Lustria, now anything which walked, flew or swam on this cursed isle would fear the report of "Death wind", his rifle!

Saturday, 12 July 2014

Had some time to spare after work so contacted the Mini Empire to see if any one was up for a pick up game.

Unfortunately only Ed put his hand up. I've got to be honest it was before 6:30pm so I would only get 2 hours on the parking ticket. Would it be enough?

Ed already had 25 points on the table so 25 points it is. That 2 hour parking permit was looking really shakey.

Army List

Ashlynn

Mule

Mule (marshalled to Gun mage Capt)

Gun Mage Capt

Gun Mages

Gorman

Alexia and the Risen.

I honestly had no idea what Ed was fielding and had no time to really find out.

There is always one looking the wrong way!

We were playing some sort of senario game. I was trying to concentrate but to be honest all I really caught was, don't be less then 14" from the table edge and the bit in the middle is important.

My Mages end up in the forest, once again with quicken on them. Alexia creates a Thrall as something called a "Mage hunter" is creeping down my left flank (and thats never good)

The Mules grab the edge of the objective and prepare to blast the first pointy ears to enter the killing field back to Ios (hopefully in lots of pretty pieces).

typical! The only non finished mini takes centre stage!

Ed is much more cautious with his approach towards the objective.

Ed sends out his Jack with the Arc node. Thankfully I have played against Magnus and his Renegades several times now so I make sure I keep Gorman between the two.

I figure now is the time! I bring Ashlynn forward and pop my Feat. Ashlynns target is the Elf solo giving his army immunity to blast damage. A boosted hit and its goodbye immunity!

I open up with my Mules and Mages and lay waste to Ed's right flank. I go critical crazy and show that Elves don't always need wings to fly.

Gorman Hits the Arc Jack with Acid (in retrospect it should have been oil). I also charge in another thrall to try to stop Ed arcing any more spells through his Jack.

Ed's LOS

Ed runs in his Mage Hunter and leaves him dangling there like a low hanging fruit. At Lano's suggestion I read the card and see why. The crafty sod!

I continue to pile the pressure on Ed's caster with my right flank.

peek a boo!

I use Ashlynn's parry ability to move out of combat and hope to hunt down Ed's caster next turn. Ed has played very defensively so far and has been retreating since the Feat turn.

With his forces crumbling about him Ed goes for the Hell Mary pass. I have got to admit this completely wrong footed me.

Ed brings his caster forward and goes spell crazy with his focus. Two obliterator spells later and its all over for Ashlynn and the Retribution are victorious!!

What a game! Ed pulls the game out of the bag with a last gasp effort and wins the game with 3 focus to spare. Cracking game and all over with 5 minutes left on the parking ticket, now thats close!

LESSONS LEARNT

1) Alexia is a fun unit to play but to be used to her full advantage she needs to be in the middle of the carnage gathering corpses. She missed two free strikes which could have been really telling on the game. If she had had the risen spare to boost the attack who knows.

2) Alexia's Arcane disruption will be a nightmare for opponents if I learn how to use her properly. I should have run her up the first two turns to get her in the middle of the action rather then creating Thralls which achieved very little.

3) I should not leave my Caster open regardless of how my opponent is playing. A one eyed mole would have seen the opening I left Ed and he fully deserved the win with that last all or nothing roll of the die.